Firearms typically rely on mechanical systems to control the firing of projectiles from the firearm. Firearms that are selective fire weapons employ multiple operating modes, such as automatic firing modes, semi-automatic firing modes and safety modes. These selective fire weapons, including M-16, M-4, AK-47 and other similar firearms, have complex mechanical systems associate with the trigger group and operating mode selection to make the selective fire capability available.
In some firearms, there is provided an electronic firing mode, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,807,007 to the present inventor, which patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. However, a firearm with such an electronic firing mode has not heretofore incorporated, in addition to the electronic firing mode, a safety mode and multiple mechanical firing modes.
Firearms with electronic systems present an opportunity to provide a more versatile and useful weapon for military and law enforcement, particularly when implemented with those selective fire weapons that already employ multiple mechanical firing modes. However, selective fire weapons have not integrated electronic firing systems and operating mode selection systems that retain the multiple mechanical firing modes and safety mode while incorporating an electronic firing system with an existing weapon platform. Therefore, further improvements in this area are needed.